The present invention relates to chewing gum and methods of making the same, and more particularly to gum containing encapsulated salt to enhance the flavor and sweetness characteristics of the gum.
Salts such as common table salt, sodium chloride, and salts used as salt substitutes, such as potassium chloride, are commonly used in food products to enhance flavors. When such salts are added to chewing gum, a distinctly salty taste results.
For some special uses, such a salty taste may be desired, or at least acceptable. In other instances the salt may be used for special purposes but at a level below which it provides a salty taste. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,631,119, salt is used in gum as part of a therapeutic appetite salient composition.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,088,788 and 4,151,270 disclose saliva stimulation chewing gum compositions for use by persons while exercising which include sodium and potassium salts to help replenish those salts lost in perspiration. The preferred combined salt levels in the patents are 0.52% and 0.32% of the gum composition, respectively.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,814 discloses a therapeutic chewing gum containing about 2% to about 6% sodium chloride and about 0.1% to about 0.5% potassium chloride bound in the insoluble gum base. The patent suggests that the objectionable salty taste can be overcome if the weight ratio of sodium chloride to potassium chloride is at least 3:1, preferably 5:1 and most preferably 10:1.
PCT Application No. PCT/US88/03283, published Apr. 6, 1989, as WO89/02703, discloses a gum composition sweetened with thaumatin or monellin, and including salt at a level of about 10 to about 1000 parts per million by weight in the gum. The salt is physically separated from the thaumatin or monellin to prevent integration and denaturing of the sweetener. One of the suggested separation techniques is to encapsulate or coat the salt to prevent its interaction with the sweetener.
Because the salts used to enhance flavor are highly water soluble, they are easily extracted from chewing gum. Therefore, even if they are used to improve the flavor, they have to be used at low levels to avoid imparting a salty taste to the gum. At these low levels, however, the salts are not effective to improve the flavor for any significant period of time.